Glitter In The Air
by sheshemarie
Summary: stripping, drugs, sex...all can lead to a downward spiral. What do you do when you feel your life is spinning out of control.
1. Chapter 1

**A little different to what I normally write but I've had the idea in my head for a while so I thought I'd give it a shot. **

**Thanks to the very awesome Jen for checking this over for me : ) **

Tucking her golden hair behind her ears she knelt over the cheap glass table in the centre of the dimly lit room, her eyes scanned the table quickly and noticed the small imperfections in the glass; a scratch here, a chip there. In the mere seconds it took for her to notice these she realised this table was just like herself, flawed.

Pushing the thought to the back of her mind along with all other doubts she focused solely on the small line of white powder, the white powder that her new boyfriend had told her would give her a great buzz. Without a moments hesitation she snorted the line and grinned feeling the instant rush. Closing her eyes she leant back against the jean clad legs behind her and sighed softly; letting the drug take over.

"Told you you'd like it." The deep, gruff voice behind her said with a smug smile on his face, allowing himself a moment to gloat. She tilted her head back slightly, opened her bleary eyes and looked up at the body that the legs belonged to. The grinning face of Eddie Willows looked down at the small female frame leaning against his legs. He ran his hands through her hair and watched as her eyes became even more unfocused.

He moved from behind her and watched as she slumped back against the scruffy moth-eaten sofa, beside that was an old lamp that was leaning dangerously close to falling over completely. She focused enough to watch as he snorted the remaining line and sat next to her.

This was her life now, two months ago she had been working in the club, dancing around the pole when she had first spotted him. He looked like a nice guy, handsome and charming. After her shift had finished he had been waiting outside for her with some flowers; normally she would laugh it off and leave but something about this guy had drawn her in, so she had agreed to go out for coffee with him.

Since that night they hadn't been apart, he'd drive her to work every night, stay and watch her dance then they would go back to her place and fall into bed together in a heated embrace which would last the rest of the night until the sun came up, by which point they would both be so exhausted they would collapse onto the bed and sleep until she had to get up for work that night.

She had fallen quick and hard for him, had believed his stories of being well known music industry. How foolish she had been.

Now, only two months later she had moved out of her rented apartment that she once shared with her friend and into a scruffy one room place with Eddie; his so called business was nothing but a couple of crappy singers that had never amounted to anything, yet she was still under his spell, still believed him when he promised her he would get her out of the clubs and they would live in a nice house and have everything they wanted.

Her love and faith in him was so deep that when he came home with a bag of the white powder and told her it would be amazing, that he did it all the time and he was fine, she hadn't hesitated to agree.

Her world was slowly unravelling around her and it was only going to get worse…


	2. Chapter 2

Cowering in the farthest corner of their bedroom Catherine closed her eyes, covered her ears and tried desperately to block out the sounds of Eddie screaming and shouting as he tore their little apartment apart.

He had arrived home half an hour ago from meeting with his 'music buddies', Catherine had been foolish enough to believe his promises of this being his 'big break' and that he would come home with some money, that they wouldn't have to struggle to buy food, pay the rent, get their next kick any more, that Catherine could quit her job and that he would support her. Which is why Catherine had made the decision to take the last of the cocaine, they had agreed earlier that morning that they would split the remainder but she had been feeling the itch and believing his promises of money she had foolishly thought he wouldn't mind, in her mind she envisioned him coming home with pockets of cash and he could go see his dealer, buy some more and they could both get a real good buzz. But that hadn't happened; he had come home empty handed, as usual. Catherine had been in the blissful state the drug had given her; she didn't see the warning signs until it were too late.

He slammed his way through the door making it hit the wall with a loud bang, she had lazily lifted her head to look at him and held her arms out limply for a cuddle but instead Eddie had stomped his way over to where she was sat on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, she tilted her head back and rested it against the seat of the couch and a goofy smile spread across her lips, she couldn't see the rage bubbling just below the surface.

Eddie's gave wandered from her drug induced state to the coffee table and the 'tools' she had used to cut the lines, some traces of the powder remained on the table but nothing to give a full grown man a buzz. His fists clenched at his sides and his nostrils flared.

"How did the meeting go? Did you get the job? Are we rich?" Catherine, still in her blissful state asked, completely unaware that her questions were making Eddie's rage worse.

The effects of the drug had caused Catherine's reaction time to be slower so when Eddie's clenched fist had propelled out towards her she only had time to turn her face to the side and close her eyes, bracing for the impact. The blow landed on her cheek instead of her nose as he had intended, she knew from previous beatings not to cry out or show any signs of weakness, he would just take that as an excuse to punish her more while shouting at her for being a pussy.

Fortunately Eddie's rage had switched courses after that one hit and he had gone for the apartment instead, he had spun around and flipped the coffee table sending the contents on top of it flying. Catherine had used this opportunity to run into the bedroom, to hide from his rage.

Sitting in the corner, cheeks burning, tears streaming down her face she listened as his heavy footsteps approached, she didn't dare look up, didn't want another bruise from his fists. Instead she looked at his boots, his scruffy old boots with the worn leather and muck covering them. Of all the things to be worried about at that moment she was thinking about the muddy footprints he had probably left throughout the house, she was thinking of the best way to clean them up when he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her up, this time she couldn't help the agonized yelp that left her lips.

Using the handful of hair he dragged her over to her dresser and roughly pushed her onto the stool in front of the mirror. "Get ready whore." He had snarled, Catherine closed her eyes against the offensive word.

Eddie took great pleasure in informing her that she best make sure she made enough money tonight to buy him a decent bag of cocaine or she would receive more than one little punch.

After he had left the room Catherine sat in front of the mirror looking at her once beautiful face, the beauty was still there it was just hidden under all the pain, the bruises and the sorrow. She picked up her old, scraggly make up brush and began to apply copious amounts of foundation to her fair skin, in hopes that it would hide the marks left by Eddie's fury.

Brush against her cheek she paused and stared into the lost blue eyes looking back at her and wondered how she had gotten to this place, this point in her life.

How had she become this person, this woman who let her husband beat her...

**Writing Catherine in this situation is hard; writing any woman in this situation is hard. But ultimately for this story to work we've got to go to some dark places before we get to the light...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Next chapter for you guys : )**

As she stepped out under the harsh spotlight the crowd of men started to jeer and shout louder than ever, she was the star attraction at The French Palace and all the men loved to see her dance. She blinked to clear her suddenly blurred vision and tried to recall a time when she danced for fun not money, as hard as she tried to remember the good days she couldn't even remember the last time she had actually enjoyed one of their nights out, Eddie would always parade her around, proudly telling everyone he met that she was a stripper. She hated it.

Taking a deep breath and with the lights blinding her, blurring her vision she grasped the shiny metallic pole in the middle of the stage and hoisted herself up, wrapped her thighs around it and using all of her strength she twirled around it, she lowered herself to the ground after the spin finished and started to sway her body in time with the beat of the music.

The crowd of half drunken business men cheered and egged her on, some calling out for her to 'take it off' it being the sequined green thong and bra she had worn that night. It was one of her favourites, the colour set off her red hair perfectly. She heard the catcalls and wolf whistles, closing her eyes she desperately tried to block them out and carried on with her erotic, arousing moves. She knew just how to move her body to make the punters go wild, how to take them to the brink and leave them wanting more, it was one of the reasons she was hired in the first place. She flipped her hair in a way that made it seem like fire, the catcalls were getting louder which was good because she knew she had to make it a great show, she needed the money. Eddie had made that perfectly clear and the sting of her cheek reminded her so, she just hoped she had managed to hide the forming bruise. Nobody wanted to see a bashed up stripper, it ruined it for them. So she had layered her make up on thick, using double the foundation she normally would.

She mentally scolded herself for letting her mind wander to earlier and pushed it to the back of her mind, she couldn't think about that now, she needed to focus, she had a job to do.

Forcing her mind to go blank she swayed her hips seductively to the beat, her hands slowly moved up her sides teasingly then disappeared behind her back, she opened her lips slightly and arched her back a little, making sure to thrust her breasts outwards, and opened her bra. Thankfully it was only held together with Velcro, it needed to be as easy and seamless as possible, and there were no room for mistakes or fumbling with bra clasps when you had a crowd of rowdy, horny men waiting to see your breasts. She turned her back to the crowd, giving them a good view of her pale, pert backside, the glitter spray she used to coat her body in making it shimmer in the light as she swayed it. She slowly lowered the straps slowly down her arms, removed one strap and allowed gravity to pull the other one off, which she caught on the end of her middle finger. She had been dancing long enough to know that teasing the guys made them want it more which ultimately led to more money being tossed onto the stage and possibly a few private dances, but teasing them too much would make them angry maybe even leave. The latter was something she did not want, she desperately needed as much money as she could get, not only to feed their addiction but to pay the rent which they were two months behind on.

So she shimmied her ass and tossed the bra to one side of the stage, looked over her shoulder towards where she knew the crowd of men were and winked, it must have had the desired effect if the whoops and cheers were any indication. She slowly turned around to face the crowd and bared her breasts for all to see, she could make out the dark shapes of the men through the blinding lights and saw that some of them had stood up to get a better look.

Even though she was smiling, biting her lip in a seductive way as she danced for the swaying, drunken louts, she slowly moved her way to the front of the stage so that those at the front could tuck money into her thong. Feeling the guy's fingers brush against her skin as they tucked the money in she tried to make it look like she was pleased and winked at the guys and seductively murmured "Thanks, Sugar."

Once all the guys had done with her thong she moved back to the centre of the stage and twirled once more, coming to the end of her dance, her mind drifting to a faraway place with beaches and cocktails and endless oceans all around. She twirled once more and slowly started to pull her thong down when the sounds of a scuffle broke through her reverie and she blinked open her eyes and looked towards the back of the club where the bar was.

It didn't take long to find the source of the commotion, by the corner, near the door that lead into the back offices were a bunch of cops and the bartender. She couldn't make out what was being said but it seemed heated, she moved her gaze over their unfamiliar faces when her eyes connected with a pair of sparkling blues. Her breath hitched at his intense gaze and everything around them seemed to blur, but only for a moment because in the next second she felt a strong grip on her arm, painful even, and was yanked roughly back.

Once behind the curtain Eddie turned to face her with a look of anger. "Stupid filth!"

Catherine frowned at him. "What are they doing here? Ted's got a licence; it's not illegal to dance. We've done nothing wrong." She couldn't understand why Eddie was so wound up.

She flinched when his grip tightened and he started to pull her towards the back exit, the one that all the dancers used, he grabbed her bag on the way and threw her jacket at her. "Fuck knows what they want but we ain't sticking around to find out!"

She tried to resist, pulling back. "Why do we have to run? We haven't done anything."

"For fucks sake Catherine! Do you think they're not going to test everyone here? You can't be that fucking stupid! You're high as a kite, they're going to search everyone, test everyone and once they see you're on coke you'll be thrown in a cell. Do you want that?" His anger was rising, she knew it was aimed towards the cops for ruining his night but she would be the one to take the brunt of it. She simply shook her head and allowed him to throw open the back door and pull her through.

"And for god's sake cover up!" He threw over his shoulder a disgusted look at her body. "Everyone will know you're a whore."

Catherine wrapped the jacket around her body and felt the sting of tears.

**Hmm, who 's eyes had she seen? **


	4. Chapter 4

Catherine's hands roamed his back as he moved against her, his sweat slicked body brushing against hers in the intimate dance of sexual intercourse. His grunts and the filthy words he uttered into the dark room made her feel dirty, the way his hands grabbed at her as he pulled out and spun her into another position making her close her eyes and pray that he hurried up and finished. She hadn't wanted to have sex but after recent events she was too scared to say no, she hadn't fully recovered from his last beating. As Eddie grabbed her hips and yanked her backwards as he buried himself inside of her again Catherine knew that was her cue to moan, arch her back and make it seem like she was enjoying what he was doing but in all honesty she wasn't. She just wanted it to be over so she could shower and sleep but Eddie must have been in a particularly horny mood because he had already had her in three different positions, even though it hurt her ribs to bend in certain ways.

His hand grabbed at her hair and pulled, making her tilt her head back and close her eyes against the sting of pain coursing through her head, she fought the tears and moaned out loud knowing that was what he wanted to hear. She knew he was getting close, his grunts were becoming more regular and his rhythm was faltering slightly. With one last, hard thrust he spilled into her.

His hand ran down her back to her ass, which he gave a sharp slap, and he pulled out. He climbed off of the bed and stretched; Catherine rolled onto her back and reached for the tissues on the bedside table to clean herself up with. Her eyes caught sight of him stood by the window. "ED, don't do that."

Using his hands he leant onto the glass and peered down at the street below. "Why? You jealous someone will see my junk?"

Sighing she sat up and rummaged through the pile of clothes in the corner for some clean underwear.

Eddie turned to face her with a sickening smirk spread across his face. "You are."Catherine shook her head and pulled on a pair of briefs she found tucked between some t-shirts. "Don't wear those."

Catherine paused with the garment at her knees. "Why not?"

Eddie reached for the briefs and yanked them back off of her legs making her tumble back onto the bed. "They are disgusting, they make you look fat and old." He threw the briefs towards the trash, missing the can the underwear landed just to the left of it. Catherine's teary eyes looked towards the garment, sure they weren't sexy but they were comfy. Eddie found a racy thong in the pile of clothes and threw it at her chest. "Where that. No girlfriend of mine is walking around in those old ugly things."

Catherine nodded silently, she knew it wasn't worth the fight and slowly pulled the thong up her legs. Eddie smiled and kisses her head. "Good girl." He patted her head like you would a pet and left, he room, still naked.

Catherine quickly wiped at her eyes and slowly stood up, she padded quietly across the cold wooden floor, feeling some loose nails press against her feet as she walked. Pausing at the door she peered through the crack and watched Eddie set up a line of coke, biting her lip she slowly closed the door the rest of the way. Carefully retracing her steps she made her way to the cracked full length mirror that hung on the rickety old wardrobe with the door that was only hanging on by one hinge. Standing looking in the old mirror she scrutinised her body, the bruises fading but still visible from Eddie's vicious blows. The little scar on her hip from when she was a kid, her fingers brushed over it as she recalled how worried her mother had been finding Catherine at the bottom of the tree with her shorts torn. Her injuries hadn't been serious but Lily had still warned her that she wasn't like the boys, she was only little and couldn't climb the big trees like they did.

She smiled a little at the memory, she hadn't listened to her mother's warnings and had gone straight back to climb that tree the next day, and she'd show those boys that she wasn't just a little girl like they said. And she did, they had all been shocked when they had come back from school and she had been sat on the highest branch of the tree. Lily had panicked and run over waving her arms above her head while telling Catherine to stay perfectly still. It had been the neighbour, Mr. Higgins that had eventually gotten Catherine down using his ladder to climb up to where she had been sat wearing the biggest grin ever. Since that day the boys had let her join in their games, she had proved herself worthy.

Eddie stumbling into the room pulled Catherine from her memories and away from the mirror but it was too late; Eddie had already seen her looking. His eyes narrowed and trailed over her body. "Sup with you?"

Catherine's gaze wandered around the room, avoiding looking at him or the mirror. "I was just looking."

Eddie's sinister laugh made her wince; she knew his next comment wasn't going to be pleasant. "Why would you want to look at that? You've let yourself go." Why did he always do that? Why did he feel it appropriate to always bring her down, make her feel worthless?

By the time she lifted her gaze again, Eddie had dressed and was making his way to the door. She was tempted to ask where he was going but didn't dare, if she asked he might get mad. So she remained in the same spot amidst the messy bedroom and watched his departing form leave the apartment.

When he hadn't returned a couple of hours later Catherine knew he was gone for the night, she had showered and rubbed lotion into her skin. She had snatched up the briefs from beside the bin and exchanged them for the thong, opened her wardrobe and found an old sweater and jogger's combo she used to love wearing on her days off until Eddie had put a stop to that.

Finding her secret stash of ice cream at the back of the freezer she settled herself onto the moth eaten sofa, pulled the blanket around her legs and flicked through the channels on the TV until she found something that caught her interest. It was a documentary about serial killers, the whole topic fascinated her. Slowly, her eyes drifted closed and she fell asleep right there on the sofa with the TV flickering in the background.

She awoke a couple of hours sweating and flustered, moister pooling between her legs. Resting her head on the arm of the sofa she tried to catch her breath, she was incredibly aroused and that had been some dream. She couldn't quite remember everything, she didn't even know who it had been about but she did know that whoever it had been had certainly showed her a better time than Eddie had in a very long time. Closing her eyes she swallowed thickly and tried to stem the arousal still burning its way through her system.

Biting her lip she lifted her head and gazed around the apartment making sure Eddie was still out as her hand slithered its way beneath her joggers and into her underwear. If Eddie ever found out she was masturbating to thoughts of anyone but him he would surely break her ribs.

What had started out as soft stroking had quickly progressed to deep thrusts of her fingers while her other hand toyed and tugged at her nipple. Her eyes closed as she arched her hips up to enable her fingers to go deeper, suddenly a set of bright blue eyes flashed across her mind's eye and she cried out as she tumbled over the edge into oblivion.

That night arrived with Catherine still wondering who the eyes belonged to and why she had had such a strong reaction to them, she wandered through the doors into The French Palace with her bag hanging loosely from her shoulder. She wasn't paying attention to anything around her or where she was going so she completely missed the form of a well built man standing right in front of her and collided with him. Her eyes snapped up and she quickly mumbled her apologies as the man slowly turned around, he slowly turned his gaze down to hers and a gasp escaped Catherine's mouth as she came face to face with those sparkling blue eyes that had caused her powerful orgasm earlier that day.


	5. Chapter 5

She had learned that his name was Lou and he was indeed a cop with the LVPD. What she hadn't learnt however was what he was doing at The French Palace. The first time she had seen his wonderful eyes had been for a case but since then she saw them at least twice a week. Not up close like the night she had bumped into him, but from a distance. He would normally sit in the shadows by the back of the club. Never drank and never did anything other than watch her face as she danced. It was a little unnerving that he would focus on that part of her body when there was so much skin exposed, why didn't he look at her breasts like all the other leering morons?

But despite his sudden appearance and somewhat slightly weird behaviour, she felt safe with him in the club. Something about those deep eyes made her feel that he wouldn't harm her. She felt like those same eyes could see past all the makeup, glitz and glamour to the woman hiding underneath and that made her feel vulnerable. Safe but vulnerable, what a combination. She had spent many nights wondering why she felt this way about a stranger, a stranger with the most transfixing eyes she had ever seen. Eddie had surprisingly not noticed her distraction and had carried on being his usual asshole self, he would come home from whatever he had been doing, snort a few lines, have sex with her and pass out until he woke for his next fix of drugs, alcohol and sex. Catherine couldn't exactly say she was innocent; she herself was still addicted to the white powder that gave her the buzz she so desperately craved.

It was that same white powder that gave her the confidence to stride across the club to where her mysterious admirer was sat. As she approached she watched him fiddle with a cell phone before returning it into his jacket pocket, he hadn't noticed her and she took the time to take stock of the man. He had dark, slightly messy hair that looked as if it had been neatly styled at the beginning of the night. His hand reached up and ran his fingers through it leaving it even messier; she smiled a little thinking that it must be a trait of his. His shoulders were broad and from what she could see he was muscular.

She knew he would be here, her routine was supposed to start in five minutes but she had convinced her boss to let her swap with another dancer, guaranteeing that she would make more money if she could just have this dance free. It was the money, and the fact that he liked Catherine, that had made him agree to it. Normally the dancers went on as scheduled unless there was an emergency, the punters got rowdy if they got someone else other than who they were expecting. Regulars knew the times each dancer came on stage, that was why Catherine had asked for this particular slot to be open to her. She knew he would only be here for this dance and then he would be gone, like every other time he had been here over the past month. By the time she returned to the 'floor' to work the customers and possibly have a few requests for private dances, he was gone. So this was her only chance to find out what he wanted from her.

Reaching the edge of his table she cleared her throat softly, smiling sultry when he turned his gaze to look at her. She fought the urge to laugh when his eyes widened in a typical 'I've been caught' way. Sliding around the table to perch on his knee she draped her arms over his shoulders, her breasts mere inches from his face.

She heard his audible gulp, his hands palm down on the seat next to his legs. He looked up into her eyes as she spoke.

"Hi there handsome, you look like you could do with some cheering up." She made sure to add a seductive tone to her voice.

Her efforts seemed to have no effect on the dark haired, blue eyed man beneath her. He made no move and offered no response. She was used to shy men, in her line of work you got a lot of guys who had just reached the age of consent and their buddies had paid for them to have a lap dance. But this guy wasn't a kid. He was an adult. Was he a virgin? Was that why he hadn't looked at her body, why he hadn't touched her yet like so many men would have tried to do?

Moving her fingers to the back of his neck she played with the short hairs she found there and winked at him. "Why don't you come with me, we can have some privacy."

Slowly she rose and held her hand out to the man. After a minute of looking at her hand he took it and followed her through the crowds to the back rooms reserved for private dances. Catherine knew some of the girls used these rooms for more than just dancing; some of them wanted more money and began turning tricks to earn it. Those dancers didn't last long once the big boss found out what they were doing. He may own a business where the girls took their clothes off for money but he never allowed it to go further than that. Catherine was one of his favourite girls and had never once crossed the line. Opening the door to an empty room she led him inside and sat him down on the red sofa.

Turning her back on him she closed the door and adjusted her little purple skirt before turning to face him again. Placing her hands on his knees she bent at the waist, allowing him a generous amount of cleavage to ogle, and whispered against his ear. "I've noticed you watching me. I've been watching you too."

Straightening a little she moved to straddle his thighs and tossed her hair over her shoulder, tilting her head to the left before continuing. "We won't be disturbed in here for however long you want me. I can work here," she ground against his body. "Or up there." Tossing a look over her shoulder she indicated the small stage in the corner with a pole on it. "The choice is yours."

She faced him again, waiting for him to make his choice.

"You don't want this." His deep voice coursed through her body with the same effect that his eyes had on her.

Suppressing her desires she smiled. "Of course I do. Don't you want me?"

His big hands moved to her waist and gripped it firmly. The punters weren't supposed to touch the dancers but something about him made her stay still while his hands lifted her, placing her on the sofa next to him. She was confused.

"I don't mean this dance, well in a way I do, but I mean dancing. Taking your clothes off. I can see it in your eyes, when you dance you have this faraway look on your face."

Folding her hands nervously in her lap she faced the guy and raised an eyebrow. "Why look at my eyes when you could be looking at my tits?" She questioned with false confidence.

The strangers face remained impassive as he looked into her eyes. "Because I can't see the real you there. The real you is hidden behind your eyes and it's that person that I want to know. Not the dancer, the stripper. I want to know the woman."

Catherine's heart thudded and she stood up abruptly, things were getting too personal. She had to stop it here, now.

"Well she isn't here. All you get is this," she motioned to her body. "Or nothing."

When he didn't make a move she returned to his lap, took a deep breath and began to rotate her hips. She had barely started her routine when he moved her onto the sofa again, stood up and walked to the door. With his hand on the knob he paused.

"I don't want you for your body. I would never degrade you like the rest of these leeches."

Losing her temper she stood up and planted her hands on her hips. "You are like them! You come here and watch me dance just like every guy out there. You can't claim to be better when you sit and watch me take my clothes off!"

He turned to face her, his eyes no longer mysterious. She could see the sorrow there. "I don't watch you take your clothes off. I watch you to try and understand you better. To try and figure out a way to talk to you."

Despite her mind telling her to calm down, not to rile the punters she charged on. "Then maybe you should have done that instead of acting like a stalker. Sitting in the corner watching me."

Dropping his gaze he mumbled an apology and opened the door to leave. She knew that if she let him go that she would never see him again. That thought urged her forwards and she grabbed his hand. "Look, I'm sorry. You're not a stalker; I didn't mean it like that. I just..." she sighed softly, defeated and dropped onto the sofa, her head in her hands. "You're right, I don't want to be here, and I don't want to dance. I don't want any of it."

The guy quietly closed the door and moved to sit next to her; he didn't question her or try to talk. He just sat silently beside her while she tried to regain her composure.

And so a strange friendship formed under the most unusual of circumstances.


End file.
